Thursday, January 9, 2014

Do you want to share?

Do you like this story?

Singapore is a global leader in the
business of finances and in line with that leadership has given guidance on
how it intendes to treat Bitcoin for tax purposes. Singapore is known for it’s lean tax environment,
having a progressive tax system where liabilities range from 0% to 20% of ones
income.

Singapore Bitcoin brokrages have received
news from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) on how to handle
capital gains , earnings, and GST (aka VAT, or sales tax) on bitcoin exchanges
and bitcoin related sales. Exchange Coin
Republis has said…

“The guidance which IRAS laid out is rational and well thought out. As a business owner, I can clearly account for my earnings on Bitcoin trades for my clients and my own positions and pay the proper taxes,” said David Moskowitz, Coin Republic’s founder.

Singapore has retrenched from their
initial cautionary position on Bitcoin and know is taking a more hands off
approach to spur Bitcoin entrepreneurship.

Some
of the key points of the IRAS’s guidance are:

Companies will be taxed on income
based on bitcoin sales, as though bitcoins were products.

When used as an investment Bitcoins
are treated as capital gains (Singapore has no capital gains tax for non-property
investments).

GST rules could vary depending on
the level of service an exchange provides (see below).

When accepted as payment for goods
and services, bitcoins are counted as barter exchange. This includes digital
products like music, but not in-game virtual products unless they are exchanged
for money or other goods in the real world.